5 on Friday!

Welcome back for another addition of 5 on Friday!

Here is a quick week-in-review of some of the awesome things that happened for me this week and reminded me to celebrate the little things in life!

1} A Fresh Haircut 

I finally got a haircut.  The last haircut I had was Valentines Day - it feels so good to have clean ends and a little extra shine!  Plus, my stylist is so fun to talk to visit with!

2} Mexican Lunch Date

Once-in-awhile when I work from home Adam and I head to a local Mexican restaurant for a lunch date.  It's good food, casual, and just fun to catch up and spend some time together in the middle of the day.  I love going for lunch with him, he is a great person!

3} I FINALLY Used My Bathroom

This is a small miracle of sorts because yesterday marked day 46 of our bathroom project.  Today was the first morning I could get ready in our awesome new bathroom.  It's gorgeous.  I love it!  Check out a sneak peek picture below.  I'll share more when some of the final details are complete.

(It's a little dark, I snapped the picture from my iPhone - better pictures to come)

4} FFA Social at Pioneer

On Tuesday the company I work for, Pioneer Hi-Bred, hosted a social for that National FFA Officers and employees that were in town visiting local companies.  This youth leadership organization is amazing, empowering, and inspiring.  I was a member throughout high school and college and wouldn't trade my experience for the world.  It really helped me become who I am and offered a world of career opportunities.  Check them out when you get a chance!  www.ffa.org

5} Mail Day

I love getting mail - real mail like cards, packages, things I've ordered.  I had an awesome mail day this week; I got gift cards that I earned from my credit card and a dress that I ordered from Delia's!

Don't forget to share your 5 on Friday!  Post your 5 on Friday on your blog and leave your blog name and link to your post in a comment below!  Also - feel free to grab my button to link readers back to my blog to see other 5 on Friday posts.

Nail Love - Essie Nail Polish

I am a girly-girl! Hair, make-up, clothes, jewelry - I love it all! Ok - I love sweat pants too but if I have a reason to get dressed up I do.

One of the things I've really gotten into lately is painting my nails. I definitely like having my nails professionally painted, but to work that into a weekly schedule is tough and expensive so of course I've had to rely on my own nail-painting skills.  I kept seeing Essie Nail Polish advertised so I thought I would give it a try and I have to say, it is the best nail polish I have ever used!

Via

My nails are pretty weak so for nail polish to stay on and not chip for more than two days is like a small miracle to me. I can go about 5 days (or longer if I put on their top coat) without the Essie nail polish chipping off.  My sisters used the Essie nail polish I brought home over Easter and they love it too - they said it stayed on longer than normal.

The other thing I love is that it only takes two coats of nail polish for rich, even-looking color and doesn't take hours to dry.  So, if you are convinced, you can find Essie nail polish at Target and they have a huge selection of colors!

Can you tell I'm excited about it?!

Oh and just so you know, this is an unsolicited product review, Essie Nail Polish has no idea who I am.  I just wanted to share one of my new found favorite products with you!

Office Space Inspiration

We only have three large projects going on at our house right now!  Thankfully one is winding down (the bathroom) and another, (my new office/craft space) is functional!  The only thing that needs to be done for it to be complete is staining the cabinets that Adam had built for me.  That coupled with some fun and functional decorating will maket this an awesome space!

Here is some of my inspiration for what I consider to be fun and functional office space!

My workspace will be similar to this, spanning along two walls.  Unfortunately I am dealing with shorter ceilings and will lack some of the finish that this space has since we built my space in our old farmhouse basement.  Overall, I like the clean lines and organization.

Via

I am definitely getting one of these large box shelves with plans of incorporating baskets for storage.  This is also going to serve as its true purpose, a bookshelf, to keep my collection of design books and magazines.

Via

I LOVE this bulletin board.  It is a DIY project that you can find on RealSimple.com.  (I actually love the whole space, check out the link under the picture.)  I am definitely incorporating one (or two) of these bulletin boards.  One of the things I like the most is the color that can easily be brought into the space by covering a bulletin board with fabric.

Via

I am am an avid rubber stamp collector!  Making greeting cards and little extras like gift tags, notebooks, etc... is probably one of my very favorite past times.  I like the idea of putting them in a wire basket so I can quickly find what I am looking for.

Via

I think this is an easy and cute idea.  If I can figure out a way to incorporate jars like this, I probably will! :)

Overall, I'm going for a pretty simple design that allows me to stay clean and organized.  I honestly didn't realize how much stuff I had until I had to put it all away... yikes! :)

5 on Friday!

A while back my dear friend, Katie, encouraged me to take a few minutes every day to write down two great things that happened that day! (I've always admired her positivity)  I haven't necessarily kept up with my two positives every day but decided to do a 5 on Friday post to highlight some of the best things that happened over the week.  Since Design Your Dwelling is all about inspiration to lead a beautiful life I am going to try to make this a weekly feature to hopefully offer you some inspiration! 

1. Cheez-It's + Scrabble

My new favorite snack is Cheez-it's, the original cheddar kind.  I picked these up in our work cafeteria during lunch early this week and fell in love with these little crackers.  Well, I had to stop at the grocery store for milk on my way home from work and made a detour to the cracker aisle to pick up my own box and do you know what I found?! Scrabble Cheez-it's!  They have little letters on them with a game-board on the back.  Thank goodness they were on sale because they are $1 more per box than regular Cheez-it's!

2. My Flowers Didn't Freeze

Adam is so good to me!  He bought me flowers just over a week ago.  No, not roses like most girls get... I got a hanging basked of flowers! :) They have been sitting on our porch steps but it got a little cold here in Iowa one night this week.  I was a little worried that they might have gotten nipped by the frost but luckily they survived.  My green thumb is not so green...

3. "Bam" (our dog) Ran Away

Bam has a friend about a mile-away that he likes to visit. Usually, this is a bad thing but last Friday he got into some rat poison and wasn't feeling so great so we've (Adam) been giving him pepto-bismal and Vitamin K pills.  Heading to the neighbors was a sign that he must be feeling better!  Don't worry... he came back! :)

 4. I Love Lia Sophia

One of my co-workers hosted a Lia Sophia Jewelry show this week so I was able to meet a few lovely ladies that work here in our office.  One thing I don't do as much as I would like to is work on my Lia Sophia business so this was a fun break in the action from the norm!  If you want, check out the lovely jewelry on my website at www.liasophia.com/bethlauwagie.

5. Birthday Celebrations!

Two of my good friends celebrated birthday's this week!  I love celebrating people's birthday's and making them feel so special because it truly is their day.  Happy Birthday to Katie and Melissa!   

L to R: Katie, Melissa, Me

What is the best thing that has happened to you this week? 

Have a great weekend everyone!